God's Underground by Richard Wurmbrand

The Hollow Hope by Gerald Rosenberg is based on one research question. That question is: Can the Court bring about significant social change? In examining this question Rosenberg presents two different views of the Court. The dynamic court view believes that the court is an excellent catalyst for social change while the constrained court view believe that there are constraints in place that prevent the court from making significant change. The constrained court believes that it is only when these constraints are lifted and certain conditions met that the Court can have an effect on social change.

The Underground Man is alone because he has chosen to be; he is hyper-conscious, meaning he is too aware and over analyses everything – his biggest worries are petty compared to what is going around him. As a society, we worry so much about ourselves and our own persona, we sometimes become paranoid. A perfect example is given when the Underground Man is on the verge of having dinner with his old comrades and he notices a stain on his trousers “The worst of it was that on the knee of my trousers was a bug yellow stain. I had a foreboding that that stain deprive me of nine-tenths of my personal dignity.” (NU 48) He immediately panics as he worries about whether his friends will see it, and goes as far as to consider forgetting dinner because he is so embarrassed. As shameful as it is to admit, we too have reached the point where we are so concerned with out outer appearance that we let it dominate most of our life – there are several instances where we dictate who we associate with and who we befriend based on their appearance. He is severely misanthropic, marked by hatred, distrust, and disdain toward the human race; he believes himself to be more intelligent and perceptive than most other people, and this contrast with the fact that he despises himself and frequently feels inferior or humiliated. Due to his lack of loving relationship growing up, he goes through life full of shame and self loathing, often falling into existentialism. The Underground Man’s urge for

In this paper, I will review Charles Ryrie’s book The Holy Spirit. I will detail what I feel the book is about. I will emphasize various points given by the author that stood out to me. Finally, I will give my personal evaluation of the book.

Matthew Lees’ “How many of the Bronx’ dreams?” is different from James McBride's “The city of Gods” because Lee discusses the lost dreams of Bronx’ New York while Mcbride focuses on the racial realities of America. In contrast, Lee discusses the dreams of people in Bronx’ New York “...Bronx’ dreams/...moved from the shadows/ how many of the Bronx’ dreams were even said out loud” (Lee 1). Lee begins by lamenting the number of lost dreams in Bronx’ New York. Lees purpose of persuading readers that Bronx’ New York is a lost city is supported through his diction and tone, by using the word “shadows”, an image of darkness that people feel. This darkness then gives the reader the feeling of hopelessness that the people feel, proving that many of

Often times we are at a loss for words when it comes to talking about the person of the Holy Spirit. Beth Felker Jones in her work entitled “God the Spirit” serves as an introduction to the study of the Holy Spirit in a distinctly Wesleyan and Ecumenical Perspective. Jones is working against the notion that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is often the most neglected of all Christian teachings (1). She recognizes her experience within the Wesleyan tradition as one that shapes her pneumatology and this book. She asserts that one of Wesleyan Christianity’s special gifts is it’s “leaning against any tendency to neglect the Spirit” (4). Even with this framework she aims to place the Wesleyan perspective in a larger ecumenical milieu that shows the continuity of a Wesleyan pneumatology with the Tradition of the Church. Overall, her approach is very accessible, as she assumes very little and writes in such a way that allows her to cover large dogmatic topics clearly and concisely. By merit of simply being an introduction only style book, there is the risk of glossing over topics and not providing enough in depth discussion to fully understand and comprehend the doctrine discussed. A reader should feel confident that Jones has indeed provided us with a solid introduction to Wesleyan pneumatology that has the ability to bear fruit and initiate growth in the life of the believer.

Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem a religious and political center from the ancient Near East time to present day, guiding the footsteps of believers around the world.

Social change comes from a societies understanding and acceptance of controversial topics, laws that enforce social norms and the politics that play a role in such change. The author Gerald Rosenberg of “The Hollow Hope” believes that the Supreme Court is able to bring about social change. Rosenburg main argument seemed to be questioning if a courts ruling that had once been accepted and had standing for several years were to be over turned, would the environment outside of the courtroom suddenly change and be accepting of their division.

Prot and the rest of the prisoners were marching, dropping every second, Prot being on the verge of falling down and trampled by dozens of people. With the little energy she had left, she made it and lives on another day. When prisoners were resting from their exhausting journey, one woman asked Prot some questions. "Janina is it, do you know where we are." A young woman with brown eyes covered in dirt asked Prot. Prot answered with "I overheard the SS guards say we were heading to Belzec, which I

Gates of Fire is a novel about the Battle of Thermopylae that takes place in ancient Greece. The novel began by focusing on its protagonist, Xeones, who had died in the Battle of Thermopylae. The Greek god Apollo resurrected him from death so that he could tell the Persian king, Xerxes, the story of his life. Xeones story started when he was just a young boy. His town was betrayed and conquered by one of their allies. He avoided being killed by escaping to the mountains with his cousin, Diomache, and his family’s slave, Bruxieus. The three lived on the mountains for two or three years before Bruxieus became very sick and died. Because of this, Diomache and Xeones decided to go to Athens. Xeones then decided to leave Athens and

In the story, The Man Who Lived Underground, Fred Daniels, a young black male falsely accused of murdering a white woman. The police assume him to be guilty, beat him up and force him to sign a confession. In a white society, Daniels knows chances are low of receiving justice, especially being a black man. Constantly disrespected called a boy and nigger, so he decides whether to flee or turn himself in. At this point, he realizes that he is guilty because of his skin color and not him as a person, especially when the news reads “HUNT NEGRO FOR MURDER” (p. 1447). Immediately, he escapes from the police, take off to a manhole and goes into hiding in the sewers. In isolation, he discovers the basements are connected. Daniels stumbles across

The Child of God describes the life of a social outcast and his violence. The character is known as Lester Ballard. The story starts with an auction being held for Ballard’s family’s property. The auctioneer attempts to sell the land which was taken from the bank. However, Ballard began to act out. He threatens the auctioneer with a rifle. However, Ballard, is taken away and the auction continues. This is the beginning of his violent outburst.

Would you want to be thrown out of a window? In the novel, Notes from Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky talks about a scene where the underground man wanted to be thrown out of a tavern window after seeing another man get tossed out of it. The social control theory does a good job at explaining the underground man’s need to fit in with society. Do you want to be constantly in debt that you never have money and are a burden to your friends? The strain theory explains really well the scene in the book where the underground man does not get invited to the going away party and does not have the money to pay for it. Both of the theories had interesting histories and more than one theorist has had some input on both.

After Augustine completed his literary piece known as the City of God, serious debate ensued regarding the correct interpretation of the concepts addressed in his writing. Augustine highlighted two realms, that of the earthly state known as the secular realm and the heavenly state known as the City of God. For instance, Etienne Gilson believed that Augustine was expressing the greatness of the earthly state while simultaneously explaining that the state bettered Christianity. Other philosophers such as Robert Markus interpreted Augustine’s writing as being supportive of the secular realm and claimed it to be independent from religion. Opposing both of these philosophers were James Schall and John Milbank. Their belief explained the political state to be sinful and evil. Analysis of all three positions ultimately revealed the ideas of Schall and Milbank to hold a deeper understanding of the truth than those of Markus and Gilson.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, Notes from the Underground Man, uses the idea of a modern dystopia by depicting a story that revolves around a distressed older man. Throughout the novel, the main character has a narcissistic belief that he is better than everyone else because of his acute sense of consciousness. His awareness however, also causes him to believe not only are people ignorant to the world around him but that they are also against him. In contrast, critics believe that the main character, the underground man, actually suffers from psychological disorders that causes him to reason this way. Psychological disorders are defined as a wide range of conditions that can affect mood, behavior and thinking, and based on his conduct in the novel, the underground man presents himself as an individual who is subjected to obsessive compulsive behavior, social repression and paranoia.

As entrapped men, the political prisoners sought to publicize the harsh conditions they were subjected to within the walls of the Italian prisons. These accounts paid specific detail to the torture occurring within the prisons, their lives at sea when deportation methods were